Forget Me Not
by stefani teee
Summary: A love story was forgotten, and a lost princes strives to return the memory of such a love. Trouble is, Usa and Mamo are already in love. Only jealousy would tear them apart.
1. Prologue: The Dark King Appears

By: stefani teee a.k.a. Koneko

© Tale Spinners inc.

Koneko-chan says!

Hello my adoring fans!!! (bows and jumps back as sharp objects are thrown) Remember me? Remember this fic? Anybody? Hello? HELLO! Oh well, maybe you'll like this one better. But anyway read on... Yeah you too back there. Hey! (dodges a roll of toilet paper that some strange fans {or other} love to throw at me) Stop stripping the washrooms! Just read it and then REVIEW!

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A Forgotten Love

or

Forget-Me-Not

Re-edited

(Prologue)

There were rows and rows of candles. Beautiful, white, and long and stately, all lit flickering against the darkness of the place. They almost looked warm and comforting, and if you were to hold a hand over it, you would feel the wonderful warmth from those tiny flames. But in reality, they held as much warmth as the black stone dais, which a majestic black throne of stone stood. They were lit only by magic that could be seen but could not be touched, letting the black obsidian walls encase the room in frigid darkness. The throne seemed hardly to be carved at all, but the flickering light played on it so that when a person looked at it, they would see strange things shift, and run on it, sometimes looking like stone, sometimes not. At the very top of the high back of the chair which was actually part of the wall behind it, the stone was cut into a delicate pattern so that some moonlight filtered through and caught on the seated person's hair. There was a crescent moon. And no one could ever tell in what direction it pointed. It changed as much as the King's mood some people said, sometimes upright, sometimes inverted.

A young man sat on the throne, lounging quite comfortably swirling a wineglass of something deep and red. Another man was kneeling at the bottom of the dais, dressed in black armor, answering the young king in monotonous syllables. He was afraid, afraid but was apt not to show it around HIM. The King was young, but he was powerful, and he was evil and cruel. Long service to the Dark Forces had paid off for him and after the fall of the Queen he had taken over. He was quite handsome… extremely handsome really though a terrifying coldness in the midnight blue of his eyes made anyone who looked directly at him cower in fear. His black bangs came down to partially cover his eyes, hair so black, it shone with a dark blue light.

He was watching the cowering man years older than him, shivering not from the cold but from fear. His face twisted into a terrible parody of a smile. He liked fear. But he would not be enjoying any of his wonderful torturing devices today… this man had a special mission to accomplish. Only if he should fail… "Go to Earth. Find the ginzoushou, and most importantly, bring me the princess who wields it. Do not damage her, do not touch her, and if you should disobey me in any way…" he let his words trail off, the man could think up a lot more things that could happen to his pathetic life to scare him on his own. "H-Hai… D-Dark Endymion-sama…" The young man's lip quirked into that same vicious smile, what a fool. Still, these men had their uses. "Good. Now go." The soldier stood up and walked out of the room stiffly. As soon as he was out of sight though, he broke into a flat-out run, away from the Dark King. Not many people ever left that room alive.

Alone again, he smiled absently as a stone slab of some sort rose from the stone at his feet. It had been hollowed out, and it was a thing that had shaped itself in time. The hollow had been made by water, and it held water, as a mirror. From above his head, water fell; pooling in the stone slab that rested on a short pillar, after it had risen completely. When the water had reached the point where it would splash over with a single drop added, the water stopped pouring from the seemingly invisible pitcher.

The water rippled for a moment, and a vapor escaped the surface with a sound almost like a hollow sigh. The clear water fogged so he could no longer see the bottom of the stone slab, and instead, he saw galaxies and stars flash past his eyes as he gazed, until Earth came in sight. It seemed to zoom in, almost like a camera would for the people of the planet, and he was suddenly looking at a Shinto temple, and a crowd of girls became the focus of his mirror. They were all beautiful, the ancient planetary kingdoms had despised ugliness, and all the royalty were forever fair.

But they had beauty of different kind. One was of a fiery sort; she flaunted it well with her sultry way of moving, in an almost languid fashion. Another was of a more hidden beauty, and there was both intelligence and wisdom in her big blue eyes. The third was bright and vivacious, who would know exactly what she wanted, and would take it, and it was that vivacity that had made men adore her in the olden days. The taller of all of them had strength as well as beauty, she was not one to care so much of make-up or such, but she had been of a dreamier sort with her strength, another good combination that made men's heads turn back then. But only one caught his interest and held it. She was, to him (and to many other people besides him) the most beautiful of all women in all time. And he had seen many women before and after he first met her.

The moon goddess, the moonchild, the princess, whatever any of them called her all was the same. She was a beautiful, angelic, wonderful… he could go on forever listing all the things he knew she was… and she wasn't his. Not now… but she would be soon enough, he would have her again.

He licked his lips in anticipation, "Wait a while, little moon bunny, and I'll come to you."

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Yes, quite short I know, but it doesn't matter much. Oh yes… one more thing, I like reviews. Lots and lots of reviews, and I would very much like y'all to review me! (And yes, y'all is a word. Microsoft Word says so.)


	2. Chapter 1: Mamoru's Memories

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Forget-Me-Not (revised)

By: stefani teee a.k.a. Koneko ^Å^

Koneko-chan says!

I ask apologies from all of you for my lateness in this first chapter. I'm sorry! I truly am sorry! But there were exams, then a summer of nonsensical crap that I had to go through… but… um… this chapter's done? And my other unfinished fics **are** going to be finished soon, if everything goes according to plan (meaning my muses don't walk out on me) so **please** be patient! _Merci_!

Chibi-Relena: *whispers* We can stage a walk-out?

Nanashi: *normally* And get beat down by Angel when she sees us?

Chibi-Relena: *shivers* I pity Seifer-chan… (K: Seifer-chan is my friend Angel's (sexyangel^Å^) muse)

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(Chapter One)

"Mina…Minako-chan!" gasped Usagi, holding her sides as she laughed, her face crumpled in mirth. The other blonde simply tossed her hair with a hilarious imitation of the snobbiest girl from Crossroads.

An old man stuck his head in the room. "Be QUIET! This is a temple and it must remain peaceful!" he yelled louder than any of the girls had. Ami covered her ears and continued to read the heavy blue textbook, which sat in her lap, her short blue hair falling in her eyes constantly. Rei rushed over to the old man. "Now Grandpa, we'd better get your medicine…" she said ushering him out the door and rolling her eyes back at her friends before the door shut. 

Minako's head had been flattened by one of Ami's textbooks when she'd jumped in surprise and she had no scruples about screaming her pain out for the entire world to hear. "OWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **AMI-CHAN**!" she shrieked rubbing the large bump on her head. Ami looked up serenely from the textbook she was reading and lowered her spectacles with a reproving look at her friend. "Minako-chan, it is not polite to be screaming in a house that is not yours."

Rei finally appeared back in the room. She dropped to the floor in front of the small table and groaned, "I thought Grandpa would **never** settle down." Usagi leaned over her shoulder and snatched the last cookie from the place before Rei could even lift her hand and shoved it in her mouth. Rei whipped her head around and yelled, "You are such a **pig**!" Usagi glared at her from around a mouthful of cookie, "Thutup Rei-tahn!" she swallowed before repeating herself in normal speech. Chibi-Usa giggled despite herself. Usagi-chan was her mother all right. Even back home, the woman-child that the servants had long since recognized was the real queen always stole the last of any cookie stash. And the first… and the, oh, she'd be there to steal **all** the cookies. Chibi-Usa liked to join her mother in doing so as well… she liked cookies. And ice cream. And cakes. And… food.

A soft beeping interrupted the 'productive' study session as everyone present groped for their respective 'watches' and flipped the covers open. There, in the tiny screen was the face of Sailor Neptune. "There's a youma at the park near Crossroads. It's not doing anything… just waiting. It wants Sailor Moon. And it's not responding to any of our attacks."

The girls looked at each other confused, firstly how in the world the Outers had found out how to connect to their communicators and secondly, why they wanted Moon.

"Right… we'll be there."

Neptune's face disappeared as she nodded. The others looked depressed… it was **raining** after all! And despite their lack of love towards their studies, they were reluctant to leave Rei's warm **dry** room. "Why can't we be **paid** for this job?" muttered Makoto, "It interferes with my regular one after all. And I don't risk my life baking **cakes** now do I?"

"Because no one gives a damn about several teenagers if they suddenly walked into the police force asking for payment in doing their job for them."

They started out looking rather bedraggled and unhappy. They finally decided against any protection from the weather… how stupid would the senshi look holding umbrellas and/or wearing raincoats when running down the streets? Very.

"Oh well…" Usagi shrugged off her pink sweater, not wanting to get it soaked. She held up the broach from her front bow in the air, and spoke the henshin words that made them into the personas that separated the destined ones from everyone else.

With those words echoing throughout the temple (surprisingly, no one heard them), the once schoolgirls raced out, clad in a medley of colors, white prevailing. Only when they reached the 'battlefield' did they note the Outer sailors duking it out with a rather large, rather armored, and rather armed with razor sharp claws, and fangs to match. Already, they were making their entrance with a series of half-finished attack names, all aimed for the youma. Sailor Moon went for a different direction, zoning in for the man whom Sailor Pluto was fighting… fighting and losing against. Moon caught up the crumpled figure of the lady, laying her down gently on the concrete before glaring up at the man who was watching them with a cool gaze.

"She was an easy one." he faked a bored yawn as he watched her, a large wicked-looking axe at the ready. She grimaced, standing up from where she was kneeling beside the pained Pluto. "What do you want?" she asked, almost conversationally, had it not been for that rather cynical tone in her voice that she would normally never use. He didn't answer at once, the axe went flying at her head with deadly accuracy and only by falling to the ground did she avoid being decapitated. "HEY! You're not supposed to do that!" the axe, still swinging in the air seemed to zip back to its owner, flying straight back into his hand. "My orders were to find the ginzoushou and the princess who wields it and bring them back with me… they never contained in what condition." he grinned, and she grimaced at his leer that showed his blackened and stained teeth. 

"God, get a dental plan!" she quipped as she tried to find a way to stop him without losing any of her limbs. She was quite attached to them. (Honestly, no pun intended) So, all she could do was hold up her wand in an attempt to intimidate him. 

"Sailor Moon!" well the cavalry had arrived… or in other words, the others had turned the youma into so much dust and then turned to see the scene unfolding with their princess. The man had lost patience with watching Sailor Moon's desperate antics and the flying battleaxe was sent whirling at her again, with good assurance that the next blow would land her dead. A red rose however, knocked its planned trajectory path askew, with the tip of its stem needle-sharp and diamond-hard, it landed straight into the blade for a moment, a whirl of crimson with the steel, before the entire thing shattered. Sailor Moon looked up, eyes astar as she stared up at her prince on his white horse.

Actually, he was not. He **was** holding an umbrella over his head however.

The man in armor looked ready to spit fire as he glared at the dashing image that Tuxedo Kamen made with his black umbrella in place of the customary cane. Sailor Moon watched him as he leapt lightly down onto the slippery road with catlike grace and faced off against the other man, giving him the customary speech that accompanied any appearance.

"You **bastard**!" he seethed, "The King will have my **head** if he doesn't get what he wants!"

Tuxedo Kamen raised an eyebrow, "I suppose the question would be if that is any concern of mine or not."

"Get them!" he yelled at the youma which had been attacking the senshi previously… and was currently swirling around the stratosphere as so much dust. He looked to where it had been previously, and for the first time, a look of irrepressible fear overtook him as he disappeared into a smog of blackness that seemed to come from absolutely nowhere and after he was gone, disappeared back into absolutely nothing. 

Tuxedo Kamen raised an eyebrow, bringing up one gloved hand to remove the white domino mask from his eyes. "What in the world?" he asked thoughtfully as he watched the place where the man had previously been.

~*~*~*~

"You **imbecile**!" roared Dark Endymion, standing from his throne on the dais. "I give you the duty of bringing back the princess and the ginzoushou and you come back empty-handed?!"

"But, My Lord, I—"

"I AM NOT DONE WITH YOU. Furthermore, reports have been brought in detailing your attempts to kill the princess. I told her I wanted her back **alive**. She is of no use to me decapitated by your foolishness and your axe. She is the **only one** who can use that ginzoushou. And you tell me, that even with a monster with you, you were unable to be rid of the remaining senshi?!"

"My King, please… forgive me, I underestimated them, give me another chance… please…" the man was begging now, a pitiful sight to see. The King looked down at the groveling man, suited in full body armor with a look of great disgust. "You are useless to me," he said, eyes still coldly blue. He gestured to a man standing near his throne, "Take him away from my sight. Deal with him."

"Sir!" the man literally manhandled the other, who was screaming pleas to the King, begging him not to do this. The most foreign of emotions crept over him, a slight feeling of pity. "Stop… don't kill him. Put him in the dungeon and let him rot."

The King stood, his black cape swept around his body, fitted out in black armor, made with detailed silver pieces, swirling all over him. "If you want to have it done…" he whispered softly to himself, "I suppose **I** have to do this myself…"

A soft sigh emitted from his lips. "Angel…" he whispered softly, thinking of a princess as beautiful as the moon, gorgeous and perfect in every way.

~*~*~*~

Aha! So our resident evil guy's got a soft spot! Well, I wonder how he'll take Usagi's metamorphosis from Moon Princess to just Moon Bunny? Well, we'll find out won't we? Email and/or (hopefully the former) review me!


	3. Chapter 2: I Remember

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Forget-Me-Not (revised)

By: stefani teee a.k.a. Koneko ^Å^
    
    Koneko-chan says!

Hi again, again I apologize on why Forget-Me-Not is coming along so slowly. Well, when it's squashed between eight other fics I'm working on (overload I know), things tend to continue slowly… sorry.

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(Chapter Two)

"Hurry, the movie's about to start!" Any passerby would see a pigtailed goddess dragging her boyfriend by the arm towards the theatre, already lined with other such scenes of happily coupled… couples.

"You bastard! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?! And with some floozy you picked up off the street? You told me you were sick!"

"I am… SICK OF YOU, BITCH!"

"WHY YOU…!"

"HEY! Get your hands OFF him!"

"Shut up BITCH!"

Commencing post-breakup brawl. Er… what was that about happy couples?

Anyway, this past-tense couple decided to bring their fight right into our leading stars. That is to say, Chiba Mamoru and Tsukino Usagi. The redhead girl collided with Mamoru, and managed to kick Usagi in the face while going down. She obviously wasn't hurt, Mamoru apparently a very nice mattress, and leapt back up without an apology to attempt to smack the guy's face. For the fifth time.

Usagi dragged her boyfriend up, cast a withering glance of scorn at the two who had DARED to face the wrath of the pink bunny rabbit, turned her nose upwards and led her boyfriend into the theatre, ignoring the rest of the assembled audience completely.

"Don't you want any popcorn for yourself?" when there was no answer, Usagi turned to stare at her boyfriend's face, "Mamo-chan? Hellooo, anyone home?" she asked, reaching up and tapping him on gently on the temple with her forefinger.

"Hmm?" was all he said. She frowned, "You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?"

"Uh, miss? Your order?" Usagi made a shushing sound at him, dismissing him rather quickly as her attentions were focused on the tall raven-haired man. "Come on, what's wrong?"

"Nothing really…"

"No, it's something really. Tell me what's wrong." She seemed to be ignoring the yells of "hurry up!" and "get moving!" quickly effectively. The guy at the counter was continuing to ask her, "Excuse me miss?"

"I SAID hold ON!" she bellowed (yes _bellowed_, it was _that_ loud), shocking everyone into silence. Not many people can do this I tell you, but she the worshipful Sailor Moon and she can (usually) do whatever the hell she wants. However, when it came to her boyfriend, his moodiness dampened her spirits just the slightest bit.

Nonetheless, she enjoyed the movie and the popcorn (as well as the soda, the chips, the nachos, the candy…) despite it all and they left the theatre, with her chattering happily again.

Mamoru reentered his home later that evening, rather worn out by his young girlfriend's enthusiasms, falling down on the couch, and throwing his keys in the direction of the bureau where he usually placed them. He half sat, half lay there, thinking to himself, wondering about that fight last night.

It had been different last night, than all the battles put together. Not many of the youma, nor their masters had ever tried to dispense with the senshi so quickly, nor so efficiently it seemed. That man, that man with the axe had been so ready to kill his princess if he hadn't himself thrown one of his roses, destroying it. He'd hadn't slept a wink last night thinking about it, how the love of his life had almost been killed right before his eyes in such a barbaric way. In such a human way.

And the man's armor! That had been what struck him from the first moment, as memories of himself, in his own previous life washed over him. It was the same exact design of his own, when he chose to become the Prince of Earth. Could it be that these new soldiers, these new forces were not only from the past… but the demons of his own people that had long ago been turned over to the Dark Kingdom as mere pawns? Another wave of guilt fell on him as he recalled the hopelessness, the selfishness! of not being able to save his own planet, his own world, and had risked everything only to save the princess of an enemy world. They could call him Prince Charming if they liked, but inside, he still wished things could have been different. And he would have done anything to know the truth… what Queen Serenity told them had been all but a mixed blur, telling bits and pieces of their history only when it suited her or Pluto to tell them.

And then there was the anger. He leapt up from his couch, all other thoughts gone as he remembered that hot, liquid anger. He remembered Beryl actually, remembered her as the sweet, innocent countess from Earth that she'd been. And he'd actually liked her, perhaps even loved her once with a soft sweetness, none of the passion he felt whenever he was around his princess. He was destined only for her. Perhaps he understood, in a strange twisted way, why she had done it. But he could still not forgive her for it.

He growled softly beneath his breath. None of this… he needed to get to sleep or else his classes would be hell the next day. Memories of a painful life in the past should be left in the past. Usako was his, she was with him, and she always would, no matter what. Changing out of his normal attire, he fell into his bed, hair rumpling, falling into his eyes. Despite his prior musings, he soon went to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed.

__

He saw his princess. Usagi, Serenity, whoever. It was she. But she couldn't see him, no matter how hard he willed his astral body to go to her, hold her, talk to her. As he watched, he saw… himself. No, not himself, he was taller, and had silver highlights in his hair, when he himself had changed from green to blue. He also looked older. Who was he then? Judging from the armor, he was from Earth as well. But who was he? An imposter?

He continued to watch the scene, powerless to do anything but watch. As the sweet gestures of a couple in love made his blood boil, he found, with only slight horror, that he found that other… 'him' being pulled into a dark vortex, ripped from the shrieking Serenity's arms. He knew without saying that it was a doorway into the Dark Kingdom, changed forever. He could see Serenity's face, and body crumple in grief, falling to her knees, keening for the man.

Suddenly, somehow freed from his frozen state, he moved towards her, standing in front of her, being the one who received her kisses, her embraces, her love… instead of the other man. What was he? A replacement?

He woke up with a start, wondering what in the world that had been about. What had that dream meant? Was someone trying to tell him something? That he'd been a soldier for the Dark Kingdom before, in his past life?

He got up, brushing his hair out of his eyes, going for the bathroom, splashing himself with the cold water from the tap into his face, and then looking up into the mirror. For a moment, he stared at his reflection, then gasped. There was that face again, that older face, with the hardened expression and the silver highlights in his hair. His eyes were ice-cold, and the cruel smile he had on his lips ruined his handsome face with the unattractive leer.

"What the—! Who the hell are you?" he yelled, shocked and surprised, not to mention slightly jealous. He _was_ a man, and all men were made to be territorial about their women. The man on the other side of the mirror did nothing more than sneer at him, before the reflective surface beneath the glass seemed to shiver, twisting itself into a swirl before reform into his real reflection showing just how worried he looked.

Extremely stressed from his night of restless dreaming, he got dressed, pulling on the customary jogging ensemble and, after grabbing his keys exited his apartment. He'd barely made five blocks, when a whirlwind of blonde hair and school uniform that was shrieking, "I am SOOOOOO late! Haruna-sensei is gonna KILL me!!" came colliding directly into him. He groaned… by now, he should have anticipated her movements. How long had he known her? How many times had she done this exact same thing?

As it happened, she could barely manage the few words of apology and the exchange of a short, sweet kiss before she was off again. She slid into her seat just a moment before the bell had rung, and Miss Haruna who had just turned towards the board looked back, slightly startled at the sight of a coughing and wheezing Usagi, looking completely disheveled, hair, uniform and all. She sighed, turning back. That girl would never change…

While the schoolgirls were whiling away the hours of sunshine in the school buildings, the King had arrived on Earth, appearing with all utmost dignity… Until he found that he'd appeared in the middle of the girls' change room in a high school not too far away from where his princess was sleeping in the middle of math class.

He was able to escape that place soon enough, his ears still ringing with the shrill cries of "PERVERT" from the surrounding females. He'd also been smacked multiple times by several shoes that were on hand and he'd barely restrained himself from throwing a fireball at them all and decimating them. After all, he wanted to be rather unobserved by the ordinary mortals that walked the earth.

Even as he walked through the streets, he found himself earning several strange stairs, and he soon recognized them to be staring pointedly at his armor. After studying the male pedestrians for a few moments, he ducked into an alleyway, whispering several spell words beneath his breath, allowing his armor to warp itself into a very believable facsimile of what most of the others were wearing. A white polo shirt and jeans, as well as running shoes appeared on him and he stepped out, imitating a casual stride as he fell into the role of 'normal'. However much he felt personally that the entire charade was completely mundane, he forced himself to play by the rules. He had come this far, trying to keep himself from becoming engulfed by the darkness for so long, just for the sake of his princess. He would not back down, not when he was so close…

Usagi leaned back against the trunk of tree, yawning, a hand lying flat on her belly. "Mmm… yummy food…" she moaned happily in her own little state of bliss as Ami and Makoto watched her, barely able to keep from laughing at the sight of their 'princess'. They had started this memorable tradition since the meeting of Usagi with both Ami and Makoto, of eating outside beneath that familiar tree.

The resident 'King of Evil' (or so we shall call him for now… for lack of a better name) was working himself into a fine temper. He had not known how used he had been to having just what he wanted when he wanted. Firstly, because his people were such dimwits to be defeated so easily, he had undertook the task himself. And despite his best efforts, he could not find her. His tracking device was supposed to have led him straight to her, but either the gadget was not working, or all these people was causing too much interference to get a straight reading.

But she was here… somewhere amongst all this hustle and bustle that was Tokyo city, his princess waited. And he would find her no matter what… but did there _have_ to be so many blasted people in this city?! The time had strayed from the early hours of the morning to noon before he finally came across a less crowded area, enough to get a clearer reading. She was closer than ever before, and he was studying the watch-sized screen with suspense-filled eyes, his heart pounding. Could he find her? Would it all come back seamlessly as if they had never been apart at all?

He broke off into a run as the device began beeping, leading him straight for a school, whose name was written across in large letters. Juuban.

Walking into the school grounds casually, he almost immediately wished he didn't. All manner of schoolgirls and schoolboys looked up at his appearance. The boys wouldn't have taken much more notice of him, had the girls not begun to whisper, point, discuss, and then squeal, with hearts dancing in their eyes as they stampeded towards him, then they just turned to stare.

He staunchly tried to ignore the crowd that was surrounding him, keeping at least that much shred of dignity having so many females around him, begging for him to share their lunch with him. In the middle of the all the squealing, he could almost have missed a voice saying, "Hey, isn't that Usagi-chan's boyfriend?"

But he didn't. He immediately headed in the direction of that girl, and voiced a question, making eye contact with no one, but still looking in that general direction, hoping for an answer. "Have you seen Usagi?"

"Usagi?" The crowd that had gathered immediately backed off, no one wanting to face the wrath of the pigtailed goddess. Whispers of that same name passed through the crowd as an auburn-haired girl nodded, arm holding a gossip-hungry boyfriend back from pouncing and extracting information.

"She's out by the oak tree eating lunch… like she always does."

Murmurs around her could be heard, "Eating is too tame a word for that meatball head, gorging down her lunch sounds so much more realistic." More murmurs, this time of agreement. Naru shrugged, doing her best to defend her friend, but it was still a lost cause. Usagi was Usagi. Nothing could be said to dissuade that fact.

He had always thought himself too idealistic for his own good, and he realized it around now when he was being informed about his princess. She had always been perfect, gentle, polite, poised and graceful when he'd met her. She had been killed, he remembered, killed by the same darkness that had surrounded him, dragging him into their world. And she'd been reborn, brought back by the love and high magic of the Queen to live again on Earth. And finally, he had found her…

Distancing himself from the female crowd, he followed the trail from his tracker, keeping his eyes wary of any large oak trees.

He found her.

Sitting in a halo of sunlight that had broken through the tree's canopy, she looked more angelic than ever before, the middle school's uniform adding a touch of innocence to her charm. He was literally stopped in his tracks as he drunk in her appearance, her nearness. His memories and what he was seeing crashed into his head, becoming one, the golden-haired goddess in front of him.

He stumbled forward, all of a sudden, all poise left him, robbing the King of his dignity as he slowly closed the distance between him and the girl. Would she remember anything about him? The Queen had wiped her memory before, to make her forget about him until time arose. Was this that aforementioned time? Would he have his princess in his arms again, be-damning any other who stood in his way?

"Mamoru-san?" it was that blue-haired girl that had looked up that spoke, intelligent blue eyes peering at him from behind a pair of reading glasses. The pigtailed girl immediately looked up, and then, with a squeal ran for him. "MAMO-CHAN!"

Now, our King did not have the experience in Usagi-based tackling, and did not know when to take the ready position when she came flying towards him. Ever before, he had remembered only when she fell into his arms, allowing him to hug her against his chest.

So, when she flew at him in a flying tackle… well, the ending result was that the two of them ended on the ground. The King was immediately rather dazed after smacking the back of his head against the ground, although Usagi was quite all right having landed on top of him. 

Usagi was off him in a second, shocked and surprised. "Wait a minute… you're not my Mamo-chan… oh dear, I'm so sorry! Here—" she held out her hand to help him up which he grasped, noting with internal surprise how her once smooth hands were now roughened with calluses just the slightest bit. A princess… who engaged in the tasks of servants? It was hard to imagine.

"Are you okay? I'm really, really, sorry you know, you just look like my boyfriend and I thought you were him and I'm really, really sorry…" she said this all so incredibly fast that he could only blink before saying, with difficulty, "You do not recognize me, Princess?"

"Princess…?" A sudden flicker came in her face as her hand came up to squeeze the broach pinned to the red bow on her uniform as if with a nervous reaction. "What do you mean by 'princess'?"

He sighed, backing away slightly. "You do not remember me. You only know the Endymion that Queen Serenity allowed you to remember…"

She grasped his arm, keeping him from walking away. "Now hold on just a second! You can't just come here, spout all this stuff about me not remembering something, even adding in my mother whom nobody is supposed to know about, and then just walk away!"

He looked at her then; his eyes filled with some raw emotion… it could have been anger. "Mightn't we talk in… privacy?" he managed to ask and she nodded, confused, letting go of his arm and leading him away from the middle school set.

"Now what?"

"First a question… you are… princess Serenity?" she looked him over with searching eyes, then nodded slowly. "So what if I am?" Again, there was that grasping motion at her broach.

"Princess… I…" he trailed off, then tried again, "I cannot believe I can finally see you again…"

"You _knew_ me? Like, when I was still a… you know, princess?"

"Knew you? I more than just knew you… I…" he shook his head, "It is not the time to tell you, I think. The queen told me that when the time came, you would remember… and even when I'm here, right in front of you…" he shook his head, turning around, allowing his hair to fall, hiding his eyes.

"_I loved you…_" this was said in almost a whisper from the girl behind him. He whirled, eyes wide, dark blue meeting ocean, as she stared, open-mouthed back at him. "Little bits and pieces of it… the lake… the…" she looked up, her eyes filled with that old, old pain. "You left me… you went away and disappeared…"

"Princess, I would _never_ leave you by choice… but, the way I am now…" he looked down, down at the hands that had slain more than a million people over the years, "If only you could purify me, princess, like you have done so with my brother. I have been covered with the deaths of my own people, filled with the darkness that created the Dark Kingdom. I could not escape it… not even your mother could help me, even at the peak of her power. So she made you forget me, forget I even existed to keep you from joining me…" he gave a deep shuddering sigh, slowly sliding down the trunk of the tree so that he was sitting, nestled between two of its roots. "I did not have the will to keep you away from me, love. So she made you forget, until perhaps the day I might be freed of this curse." He looked up at her, "I left you in my brother's care, asking him to protect you in my stead. But Queen Serenity…" he grit his teeth, filled with momentary anger which passed quickly, "She wanted only your happiness. She made it so the two of you fell in love, you and my brother. Then, the war took place and your mother sealed us all away and you forgot… completely…" he stood, suddenly gruff.

Usagi was silent, astonished really, at what she was hearing. A Dark Kingdom drone was telling her this story about how her mother had fooled her into thinking that someone else had been her love since the beginning of time? And she believed him?

"What is your… name?" she asked him suddenly, surprised that she did not know. If she had loved him, why couldn't she remember even his name?

"You never knew it, Princess. You always called me Endymion… a name both my brother and I share, so it was not surprising that you…" he paused, "that you forgot entirely about me."

"You mean… _you_ didn't forget about me?" she asked, horrified that he should knowingly have watched her fall for his brother. Why hadn't her mother helped him forget too?

"What else could I do? I did not want to kill my brother at that time, and Queen Serenity wanted only for you to be happy. Even away from me…"

"So… your name?"

Her bluntness and the sudden switch of topic struck him off-guard and he stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before saying slowly, "Erik."

"Erik…" she rolled the name around her tongue, as if tasting some new sweet and he watched her with curiosity. This girl was nothing like the angelic princess he had known, that flowed through life like moonlight. She was so… bubbly and… spontaneous.

"Well Erik… uh, I'm sorry if this sounds stupid to you, but I've got class and Haruna-sensei will _kill_ me if I don't get to class on time… I'll have detention for a week and then Rei-chan will be _so_ steamed at me…" she trailed off, "I'm not blowing you off or anything okay? But the lunch period's over and I need to get back to class… if you're hanging around town before you go back to doing whatever you… evil Dark Kingdom drones do, as long as you don't kill anyone, and then… maybe later after school… I can try and help you…" Then she was gone, after saying all this, apparently all in one breath. She took one immediately after before rushing off in the opposite direction yelling, "JA NE!" back at him, before tripping over what looked like a stick and falling flat on her face.

He watched, surprised as she picked herself up, and with a glance at her watch, was off with a wail. "I'm gonna be _laaaaaaate_!"

He shook his head. Yes, he was too idealistic. But she would always be his princes… wouldn't she? He bit his lip, snapping his fingers, and he disappeared, leaving behind only a cloud of blue smoke and a smell of something that'd been scorched. He needed to think this over. Very, very well.

~*~*~*~

End of Chapter. Finally! Do you _know_ how hard it was to finish this chapter? I never could believe it, especially when I finished the chapters of all my other chapters in one night and this took three! Oh well, it'd better be worth it is all I've got to say. Review me! Please!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 3: Once I Saw You Again

(Chapter Three)

As if in a dream, the two of them had talked, softly and silently of the past and had parted only when the sun had set. Somehow he could not bear to go back to the darkness of his own world… with a bit of magic, he spelled a hotel room for his own personal uses, and stayed there. To be in the same city, even on opposite ends, was infinitely closer than another world of darkness and death.

Lounging on an uncomfortably overstuffed chair, he languidly swirled his hand in the air in front of him, pouring power from himself into the spell. It was simple enough, and he cast the small scrying spell easily, peering into it to see the face of his beloved as she slept, a moonbeam entering through the opening in the curtains, bathing her in cool white light. She really did look like a princess then at that moment, despite the ridiculously pink of the blanket covered in an array of running white bunnies. He watched silently, that familiar longing filling him again as he watched her. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she rolled over in bed, moaning softly and shuddering before falling silent again…

He tried not to, he honestly did. But before he knew it, he was out his hotel window, leaping to the roof of the nearest building, closing the gap between himself and his beloved. He needed to know… was this, this strange creature of a girl really his beloved princess? There was no evidence that she wasn't… but she was entirely a different person. The princess of the moon would never stoop to the level of speaking the coarse language of the common people, nor was she supposed to dress the same as them either. He supposed this was Queen Serenity's doing, and though he had to grudgingly give his approval to her wisdom, he suddenly wished she'd been a little less wise and a little more selfish. He knew nothing of this girl that he'd met that afternoon. She had even confessed that she could not ice-skate! ICE SKATING, what the princess had excelled at above all else!

He had to see her. That was all he needed to know at that precise moment. He was at her window in a matter of minutes, a seemingly impossible feat unless you'd inherited the speed and agility of the Terran Royal Line, as well as the magic flowing through his body. He slipped through her window silently, nearly stepping on the small black kitty lying in a patch of moonlight on the girl's bed.

He couldn't talk to her here and he knew it. He stood there like an idiot wondering what to do. Now that he was here, he felt remotely foolish for intruding in his princess's (for so he called her, despite her attempts to have him call her Usagi) private sanctuary. He didn't have to do much, because at that moment for some unknown cause that only Pluto herself could know, Usagi woke up.

Now this, ladies and gentlemen, stops short of Armageddon because our Usagi _never_ wakes up before noon if it were up to her alone. But there they were, those thick dark eyelashes parting to reveal those big blue eyes looking up sleepily at the intruder. They widened immediately as she gave a muffled shriek, making the cat beside her stir. Casting a quick look at her cat, she hissed at him, "What are you _doing_ here? Do you _know_ what my dad would do to you if he found you here?"

He fumbled with his black gloves, looking almost sheepish. "Would you… would you come with me then? To… talk?" he asked nervously, looking so much more like a lost youth than the powerful King of Darkness that he had become, that Usagi stifled a giggle.

"But what if Luna wakes up? And my parents…" Luna stirred again, and Erik cast a quick look at the cat. "Luna? The same court guardian of the palace?"

  
Usagi nodded, "The one and the same," she agreed wryly. "You know what? I'll write a note okay just in case okay? I won't be able to stay out for long, but…"

"It won't be for long." He told her hastily, almost afraid she wouldn't come, he was in a near state of panic for absolutely no reason at all, simply because, amazingly, despite his… doubts about this new girl that his princess had evolved into, he wanted to be with her.

Finished with the note scrawled in her messy writing with all the wrong kanji, he was able to read it over her shoulder. 

__

Dear Mummy and Daddy,

I have gone out for a walk in the beautiful moonlight in which I have such a… connection to. If you look out at this moment, can you see it shining? I will be back soon, Usagi

Raising an eyebrow, a rose appeared in his hand, the red petals so dark, they looked almost black and he neatly pinned it to the note. There. For Luna at least, that should be enough information, and Usagi eyed him appraisingly for his bright idea.

"I suppose that trick runs in the family?" she asked, tentatively, almost shy when faced with this strange person, who was one of the Dark Kingdom drones, but still a guy from her past that she had once loved and lost. It was… strange to say the least.

"Ready?" he finally asked her, after a moment of silence. She nodded, before stopping, and shaking her head. He frowned, _Now what?_

"I am _not_ walking around town in my pajamas and my bunny slippers!" she hissed at him, making for her closet. "Now turn around and if you peek, you'll see how well Sailor Moon can beat your ass into the ground."

Again, that strange feeling of not knowing who she was anymore, surged through him, even as he dutifully turned his back. Well, at least she was still had her modesty… in that way, she was still the same.

But, as he listened to the soft rustling of fabric as she removed her clothes, he shivered, despite himself, thinking of the nights he'd spent with her, his arms wrapped around her, her smooth body pressed next to his… All of a sudden, he _wished_ that that it had been one thing that might've changed about her.

Usagi's thoughts were running down a different track. When they'd met that afternoon, her rather cautiously, she must say, several annoying and rather rude teenagers had interrupted them. He'd been ready to literally incinerate them so that there would be nothing left but several neat piles of ash… before the wind swept them away of course. Hidden from the teens, a black fireball had already exploded into flame in his hand. She'd been quick enough to kick him in the instep, hissing at him to calm down.

He'd killed the flame immediately, but still glared menacingly at the punks, so that they slunk away like sulky coyotes. But it had left her nervous and on edge. This was soooo not right, a well-known heroine conversing with a King from the Dark Kingdom? And did not involve screaming any number of incantations that included anything to do with the word 'moon'. She finished dressing quickly, and they slipped out onto the balcony quietly, Usagi taking the drainpipe, Erik, taking the short way simply vaulted over the railing. 

They ended up in the park, sitting by the fountain. "So… whaddya want to talk about?" asked Usagi, in the nervous silence that ensued. His face had taken on that almost shy look, adorable and unexpected in that cruel, angular face with the sharp, cold chips of blue ice.

"I… once I saw you again… it was too much to bear being away from you…" 

She bit her lip, remembering the dream she'd been drawn into that night before he'd came, spawned from their earlier conversations…

__

The night was crystal clear as it always was on a world where there were no clouds, and the water showering down from the fountains were sparkling in the light radiated from the very ground that they were set on. In some places, grass that waved in an unseen wind, a sea of sparkling iridescence. The flowers on their stems waved in the slight breeze. And in the middle of all this serenity, was the princess herself. A young man watched her from behind a marble column, his eyes glazed as he watched her almost as if in a daze. She was so near, he could smell her apple-blossom scent, even over the other fragrances of the flowers she was surrounded in.
    
    Usagi had stirred, and a wayward thought of her own came through her head. That had been the night she had met him! 

__

They met that night as, the stars glimmering around them, closer than they would ever seem on Earth, outside the grand party that the Queen held at the palace.

The princess had wandered away from the endless talking and laughing that was the life of the moon. She was happy of course, happy to be in the midst of such gaiety and beauty as she lived the life of a princess. But there was always that longing, wishing to know more about that mysterious blue-green world that she could see from her palace windows. And there were times when a life of such frivolity grated on her, and she wished fervently that she were someone else, of lesser nobility.

He had come to her, dark hair falling almost messily into his eyes, and those blue, blue eyes. She'd been met with a soft, shy smile, and a rose that glowed in beauty from the light of the moon on which they stood upon, and his name. He'd asked her why she wasn't dancing, why she didn't want to join in the party.

She'd replied, blushing despite her best intentions and replied that she had wanted to be away from it all. He'd been so understanding, leaning against one of the low marble fences in a relaxed, casual way. All the men she'd met had been when she'd been right beside her mother with the endless introductions that accompanied any courtier's life and they had all be ramrod stiff and polite. This had that small element of excitement as she watched him. A smile appeared on his face as he brought them both into a conversation, peppered with her questions of his life on Earth.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the Queen was standing there, watching them, tears running down her face. Her dearest daughter was in love, one look at her was enough to show it… and he was from Earth. It was impossible. No matter how much an outward show of nonchalance the Moon Kingdom exuded, the threat of the Earth's minions ever loomed darkly over them like a cloud. And she knew in her heart, that trouble would spawn from it all.

But she couldn't stop them. And she never tried to, despite her own private misgivings. And as the days and the nights went by, her heart grew ever fearful. The Lunarians were suspicious of everyone that came from Earth nowadays, and some looked at the princes with narrowed eyes and whispers of the seduction of the princess. And it was that night, the night before all hell broke loose on the moon that Prince Erik of Earth was taken from her, taken by the very dark forces that he'd promised he would help defend the Moon against. 

He'd left her, that feeling of emptiness in his body that always accompanied him whenever she wasn't at his side. And he'd been pulled into a swirling abyss of darkness and evil, by demons that radiated an otherworldly malice. That night, Erik became a warrior for the Dark Kingdom. Even as his mind filled slowly with the darkness of Metallia's evil power, his heart cried out for his princess. But only the Queen answered, telling him of her plans to keep her daughter's heart from breaking. And he'd begged her to ask his brother for the princess's protection until he was able to break free from the vice of the Dark Kingdom's curse. And she had told him that she wanted only her daughter's happiness.

He'd slept all the thousand years that had passed after that grisly battle with the Moon Kingdom in which he was entirely unaware of what he was doing, his mind buried deep inside him, unable to know that he was killing the people of the world he'd sworn to protect. His original plans were gone. His brother had fallen for his princess and in the journey to the future, had forgotten his promise to her, knowing only of his own love for the princess of the moon. And when Sailor Moon had defeated Metallia, his last shred of hope was gone. She was the only entity he knew that might've had the power to purify him…

She shuddered, thinking of the horror she'd been filled with at the end. She'd felt his anger, his despair, and his hopelessness. Slowly, bit by bit, she was rebuilding the past that had seemed so unclear to her, of love found and love lost. It was not a wonder that he wouldn't want to leave her again! But… she certainly did not want a Dark Kingdom drone dogging her every footstep! And he would know that soon enough, she was sure.

He looked almost uncomfortable in her long silence and she finally asked, "Do you hate him then?"

"Who?"

"Your brother. My boyfriend." 

He physically winced. "That is a hard question to ask of me, princess." He said, with a trace of the bitterness he kept hidden so well as a ball of black flame burst into life in is hand at his sudden anger.

"But I want to know…" she pressed on, biting her lip as she said this. She was frightened now. She did not have any delusions that he wasn't a Dark Kingdom warrior… he was a King! Even if he could, he would never throw away everything just for her.

"I do not hate him… just anger and jealousy."

"Jealousy?" she was taken aback. Although on the wrong side of the good/bad line, he had a position and a power that his brother would never have… [1]

He smiled at her again, albeit sadly, amazed at her naïveté. As if reading her mind, he answered. "To have you and your heart in his keeping is worth any price. I would have thought previous experiences would have told you that."

"You know, for a Dark Kingdom drone, you sure can sweet-talk your way out of, or into, anything. Maybe I have to watch out for that."

"You mean as the princess? Or as this new girl-child in this new future? Or even… even as the warrior you become to fight—what was the word?—evil?"

Usagi bit her lip, pouting adorably as she did so, "All three I think. I can't be one without the others."

He was silent for a moment, before saying softly, "You could before."

She drew back, stung. "Well I'm different now!"

He watched her out of those cold and calculating blue eyes that had softened ever so slightly in their blue emptiness. "Yes… you are very much different from the princess I once knew."

She bit her lip, still thinking about him and her brother, and her sad part mixed up in this. Oh what her mother had done to preserve her happiness! She'd tried, Usagi had to give her that, but it might have been better then, than to experience this later pain.

"But I am sure, with some adjustments here and there, I could love this new you as much as did when you went about the castle in that gauzy slip of dress."

Was that a flash of humor in his voice? She narrowed her eyes playfully, "What was _wrong_ with my dress?!" she snapped, trying to sound stern, but failing miserably, when she felt her eyes sparkling. "I'll have you know plenty of people have complimented me about my dress!"

He smiled again, surprising her anew with the sudden flash of humor. "You were the princess, and your mother was right at your side with that crystal in her hand. No one would risk the wrath of the Moon Queen."

She grinned, pretending to look thoughtful, "So _that's_ what happened to Lestat!"

He shook his head, the blue-black of his hair falling into his eyes as he did so. "I do not think I will deign to ask."

"Don't. I hardly even remember anything about my past. About anything from the past."

He smiled that slow, tentative smile again, "Well… I'm sure you will. With time. For you are a princess, and will one day be a queen no matter what."

She was then struck with the sudden suspicion that the glazed look in his eyes was similar to that that Rei had whenever she was struck with one of those visions of hers. Could he see the future? _Her_ future?

~*~*~*~

[1] This is taking place when Chibi-Usa first arrives, albeit a little warped in the storyline I'm sure. So she and Mamoru are happily in love and they do not yet have a clue about their future. Just so you know.

Thanks all of you for reviewing, and I know, I know, I haven't updated for a while. But I've been plagued with the horrors known only as homework. And then there was the Literacy test… let's not even go there. I actually fell asleep when I was done the test an hour early! Oh well, review me!


	5. Chapter 4: Uncertainties

(Chapter Four)

They'd parted, and he'd left, retreated back into the darkness of his realm, with his dark thoughts. He had been so close to her! He could have touched her, kissed her… He groaned, to feel that satiny smooth skin beneath his fingers again, to feel her petal-soft lips crushed against his own… what he wouldn't give! And she was in the arms of his _brother_ of all people! The thought left a disgusting taste in his mouth.

The evils surrounding him closed in on him, their long surreal hands working around him, his greatest advisors to the dark powers they were, and they tempted him beyond anything to spill his desire of the Moon princess, to ask them of their advice. But he could not give in… they were wise, but only as minds of darkness, always looking towards the dark powers' control, the gain of the darkness. They cared nothing for trivial matters of the heart and all they would suggest would be the death of his brother by torture and making the princess his bloodstained Queen of Darkness, and that was at the most. At the least, they would tell him to forget her and to kill her and him together for their betrayal. No, while the spirits of darkness were perfect advisors for the debates on decapitation or no, they are not much use with the magicks of the heart.

__

She would have to choose… that was the crux of the entire thing. And if it came to that, it would break her heart to do so. Even back in the old kingdom she had abhorred such choices, even when dealing with the flighty Venusian princess's many admirers. How would she take it if it were _her_ two admirers? Even _he_ could tell that his brother was in love with the princess… how could he not? The Sailor Senshi had not been completely unknown to the forces of evil. They had been known for millennia as it was… but never had there been an age where the senshi were as powerful, or as loyal to their princess and each other. They had heard, and they had followed the newly crowned Queen of the Dark Kingdom, Beryl to their doom in their haste to dispose of the princess and her senshi. They had failed, and thus their battle had raged to the present-day, when more and more that served the dark power lashed out blindly at the senshi, being easily defeated and leaving them with even more information and more experience.

But what could he do then? He felt like he had been trapped into one of the plays that the denizens of this world so liked to read. Rakefear? No… Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. His eyebrow quirked with a flash of wry humor, some dark romancing lover he made to her entrancing Juliet. All he brought her was pain when he came to see her, consuming her with guilt when she ever thought of what to tell Mamoru.

~*~*~*~

And Usagi! As soon as she was laid back in her bed, and settling in for the remainder of the night, she was soon wakened again by a knocking at her window. Stirring, she turned round, face to face with the shock of blue-black hair and the dark blue eyes. She started, before taking a closer look. It wasn't Erik. It was Mamoru.

"Usako?" he asked in confusion, when his entrance was greeted with a nod and a faintly sleepy smile. Normally, she'd be barely keeping herself from squealing loud enough for the entire household to hear her. "Mamo-chan…" she replied, holding out a hand, touching his face, tracing the lines of the bones beneath the skin. "My Mamo-chan," she repeated, as if to reassure herself. 

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, taking her into his arms, holding her close. "What is it?"

For a moment, it looked like she might say it, like she might tell him. But she relaxed, and burrowed herself against his chest. "Nothing Mamo-chan… nothing…"

She stayed like that for a long while, luxuriating in the familiarity of him, and how much she loved him. But she had once loved another man so very much like him, who had made her laugh, made her smile… had she really been that fickle?

No… she didn't want to remember. Not tonight at least. For now, she didn't want to think about it anymore. She fell asleep like that, sheltered in the safety of her love's arms.

~*~*~*~

"Hey, hey, do you think there's something going on between Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san?"

Minako rolled her eyes at the raven-haired priestess as she lounged on the aforesaid priestess's bed, with the latest Sailor V manga. "Rei-chan, there's _always_ something going on between Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san."

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it…!"

Makoto laughed, "If she were anyone else, it would be easier to tell then, wouldn't it? She's just as clumsy as ever." Something in the sparkle of her eyes told the rest of them that she probably preferred the clumsy, childish crybaby to anything else.

"But now that you think about it… she _was_ rather quiet during English wasn't she?" Ami remarked, pulling off her glasses as she looked up from her textbook, a small frown creasing her otherwise sweet face. She pushed the heavy tome off her lap, and it landed with a muffled "thump" on Rei's carpeted floor.

Again, the tall brunette burst out laughing, "Was she _asleep_ at the time…?" she asked innocently, with a devious expression on her face. "But no… that wouldn't make sense either… when has Usagi-chan _ever_ gone to sleep without making as much noise as an explosion in a landmine?"

Rei nodded, "Maybe… but I don't know… something just doesn't seem right about her…"

Makoto stopped laughing, and a frown spread over her facial features, "Is there something wrong? Another enemy?"

Rei shook her head slowly, "I don't know if it's another enemy per se… I think… I think… oh I don't know… honestly, I don't know what goes on between those two… and if you ask me, I prefer not knowing." She turned away from the rest of them for a moment, nursing her own private pain. Even with all the words she'd spouted to her friends when she'd found her senshi leader and her boyfriend in each others arms, about how they weren't really meant to be… It still hurt, and there still _had_ been a pain of betrayal mixed in with the joy of finding her princess. And she _had_ considered Sailor Moon her leader, and her best friend, despite their seeming animosity. It had hurt a lot. She just wasn't quite sure Usagi knew that. But if she had… would she have done anything different?

~*~*~*~

Yr was a high-ranking demoness in Lord Endymion's black court. And she had been around long enough to be there for him since he had first ascended the throne, after the fall of Metallia. He had been the hero of the demon world that had saved them from complete destruction. Before him there had been no one to rule the mindless hordes of demons and monsters and who were inevitably butchered by the dreaded Sailor senshi. And she had been one of his most trusted confidantes. But she could simply _feel_ that sort of camaraderie changing, as he became more self-inverted, and there was a sort of… a sort of _glow_ around him. Something good. Something pure. Something completely alien to the life of a demon king… She well knew the tales of his previous life, of the time before he had become a dark warrior. Hadn't they all? She had been a courtesan in the palace of Mars before she had been brought over. But that had been eons ago, and she had almost forgotten that lost world of gaiety that she herself had helped destroy.

She needed to find out more about what was happening to Lord Endymion. The demon world could not stand to lose the only king they had that had provided the way to their continued existence. He had had power and been corrupted by darkness, but he had been unwilling against the corruption and it had not been total. He had resisted the dark power enough so that he had his own strength of will intact, and was not a slave to the darkness like so many other rulers had been. And if it should prove dangerous to the continued existence of her kind, there would be hell to pay. Yr was not a demoness to mess with. If their king should turn on them, she would be there, doing all that she could to rid him of whatever madness had befallen him. Call it demon intuition, but she knew something was coming that would affect both the demon world and the mortal realm. She'd be damned to Hell if she were to simply stand in the sidelines.

Damned for the second time, that is.

~*~*~*~

End of chapter. *winces* I know, I know, I'm late, and it is also a very, very short chapter. But in order to write it better, I have to design a brand new plot, but I wanted to post what I have so far. Don't be mad at me… and Angel, don't come running at me with a chainsaw in hand.


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